Mahler – Symphony No.5
Budapest Festival Orchestra; Ivan Fischer
Channel Classics CCS SA 34213
Slowly building what promises to be a complete survey of Mahler symphonies, Ivan Fischer’s latest release (preceded by Symphonies 1, 2, 4 and 6) is his most impressive achievement so far in this cycle. In some ways it might be considered a middle-of-the-road interpretation; the tragic, funereal profile of the first two movements in particular seems unusually constrained. Consider for example the operatic, borderline vulgarity of the “oom-pah” trombones so tellingly brought to the fore in the classic Bernstein Vienna Philharmonic recording from days of yore; here their barbaric yapping is barely audible. It’s not, as it turns out, a question of misjudged orchestral balances or engineering oversight, for in general the detail of sound is exemplary throughout, spectacularly so in the dynamic layering of the intricate polyphony of the grand fifth movement finale. Rather, Fischer’s’ devil dwells in the details, with the grand histrionics we have come to expect in Mahler subdued to highlight the large-scale architecture of this sprawling work.
The virtuoso Budapest forces respond most elegantly throughout; their accord with their conductor and founder in the famous Adagietto is positively psychic. It’s a pity however that the obbligato horn soloist placed at the front of the stage in the rustically rendered central Scherzo movement is not credited. Splendidly recorded in Budapest, this SACD features a spacious sound stage with the first and second violins divided to the left and right of the stage and exceptionally pristine sound. This is a refreshingly idiosyncratic performance that deserves a place near the top of recent Mahler recordings.
